Chapter Two
Guess I’d better do it now since I have a long drive back.* Ellie pulled up to a small, well-lit gas station and parked her car in front of one of the gas pumps. She climbed out and stretched, rolling her shoulders to work some of the soreness out of her muscles. When she was satisfied, she turned to the pump and wiggled the card reader, ensuring that a skimmer wasn’t placed over it. Ellie inserted her card and began fueling her Kia up. She leaned against her car and watched as the meter slowly climb higher and higher.
I wonder if I might have overreacted, she thought as her eyes drifted to the empty parking lot. No. I don't think so. There was something about him that was... wrong. Maybe he is a serial killer and I was his next victim, she thought anxiously. Ellie stepped away from the car and looked around, suddenly fearful that she would be snatched at any moment. That would be my luck, wouldn’t it? Escape one killer just to be snatched by another. She shook her head, trying to clear it of the negative thoughts clouding her mind. She knew she shouldn’t focus on the past. It would stress her out way too much.
Her stomach growled loudly as the gas pump automatically stopped. Ellie had been so focused on her fear that she had ignored pretty much everything else, including the hunger that was gnawing at her stomach. She sighed heavily replaced the nozzle, then pulled her card out of the card reader. There were a few fast-food places that stayed open late, and she knew she needed to stop and eat before trying to head home. She yawned again and climbed into her car.
As Ellie started to buckle herself back into her seat, she began to feel like she was being watched. Terror froze her in place momentarily, her heart pounding as her mind began to race.* Something isn’t right,* she thought warily. Ellie looked all around, trying to find whatever it was that sent her into high alert. The sun had started to set, casting long shadows in the dark alleyways surrounding her. She spotted movement in one of the nearest alleys and saw a flash of orange. Her heart thundered in her chest as she recalled how the man’s hair seemed to glow even in the dim lighting of the store. Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows. Her heart dropped as she recognized the figure.
It was him. He’d followed her after all.
Panic seized her and she watched, frozen, as he began to walk toward her at an incredibly fast pace. Shit, shit, shit. Time to go! She snapped out of her stupor and tried to put her key into the ignition. Adrenaline began coursing through her veins and she fumbled with the keys, nearly dropping them. She glanced up to see him less than twenty feet from her car. Finally, she was able to jam the key into the ignition and start it. The man began running at her and Ellie threw the car into reverse. She hit the brakes, shifted into drive, and glanced back up.
The man was leaning on her passenger window. She screamed as he raised a fist and punched it, shattering the glass with an inhuman strength. He slid his hand inside and unlocked the door. Ellie, shocked by what she had just witnessed, watched as he pulled on the door handle. Fuck, fuck, fuck! He was just pulling the door open when Ellie stomped on the gas. The man jumped back, a string of curses escaping his thin lips.
Ellie peeled out of the parking lot and headed back toward the road connecting the two towns. She glanced into her rearview mirror to see the man standing there, watching her escape. She shivered as she recalled how he had done the same thing earlier that day. Ellie sped through the little town, running through all the traffic lights without stopping, thankful that there seemed to be no other drivers out.
As she drove out of the town’s district, her pulse began to slow down. She sighed shakily and began taking slow, deep breaths. Now that she was away from him, all she could do was puzzle over how he had gotten to the town without her seeing. The town was so isolated that there was only one main road running through it, and she had traveled the length of it without seeing any vehicles follow her. There were no airports, helipads, bus stops, or taxi services. Still, she would have seen a helicopter or plane. A bus or taxi surely would not have been able to arrive before her either. She was utterly baffled.
A sudden urge to sneeze distracted her from her thoughts, and she realized that now she not only hungry, but also very cold. The temperature had dropped significantly when the sun went down, and the cold air pouring through the broken window was chilling her to the bone. Ellie turned her heater on full blast and settled in for a long drive.
Try as she might, she just couldn’t figure out how he had beaten her to the town. The man must be magical, she thought sarcastically. She rolled her eyes at the thought and shook her head. Yeah, magical. If anything, he’s a drugged-out psycho. There’s no way that any normal person would be able to punch through a car window like that. She continued to mull over her thoughts for the remainder of the drive.
After another hour of silent driving, she passed a sign that said she was twenty miles away from her town. She was just about to pass the Hail Mary Gas Station when she heard a loud bang, followed by a thumping sound. The car began to bounce slightly with each thump! and Ellie groaned. Great, a flat tire. Irritated, she pulled into the gas station parking lot and parked near the doors. She’d just have to buy a tire patch kit, fill up her tire, and hope that it would work long enough for her to get a new tire in the morning.
She climbed out of her car and stretched as she did at the gas station in the last town. Tiny pieces of glass fell out of her hair, falling with soft clinks onto the ground around her. She cursed under her breath and shook her hair out carefully, coaxing more pieces to fall out of the long, wavy brown mess. When she had finished shaking out her hair, she checked her seat and picked out any visible pieces, tossing them onto the ground next to her car. Satisfied with her work, she made her way to the gas station, carefully avoiding the larger pieces of glass on the ground. She pushed the dirty glass door to the gas station open and glanced at the counter. John wasn’t there.
“Hey, John?” she called. When she got no response, she figured that he must have been back in the storage room. She stepped in a little further and called again, louder this time. “John! It’s Ellie! I had a bit of an accident and I’m borrowing the broom to clean it up!” There was still no response from John. She shrugged her shoulders and made her way to the counter. It was very common for John to disappear into the back of the store for hours on end. It’s not like the gas station was busy, so he usually got away with it.
The broom they used to sweep the floors sat propped up against the far end of the counter next to the window. She grabbed it and walked quickly back to the door. As she was about to go through it, she saw a stack of newspapers and grabbed one off the top. She walked outside and began sweeping up her mess, grumbling under her breath about how much it would cost to get a new tire and a new window. Once the glass was all gathered in one pile, she used the newspaper as a makeshift dustpan and carefully swept the glass onto it. She discarded it all into a trash can near the entrance and shook the broom over the can, making sure there was no glass left in the bristles.
Ellie went back inside and placed the broom back in its spot. She wandered to the back of the store and weighed her drink options. Water or soda? Soda or tea? Water is the better choice, obviously, but I still have a way to go before I’m home. I think I’ll just get a diet soda. Less sugar and carbs with all the caffeine I need. Yeah, definitely the soda. She grabbed a soda out of the cooler and made her way over to the chips. She was going over her options when she heard a sound. She stopped, her hand in mid-air, holding a bag of chips that she was going to put back on the shelf.
“John? That you?” she called softly. She heard the sound again, though it was fainter this time. She placed the chips and soda on the shelf and walked slowly to the front of the store. John still wasn’t at the counter, so the sound must have come from the storage room. “John?” She walked toward the partially open door, her entire body on alert. For the third time that night, something felt wrong.
Just then, she heard a soft moan. She sighed and rolled her eyes. She’d already caught John in the storage room once with a woman, and from the sound of it, he was at it again. Ellie was about to turn around and continue her shopping when he moaned again. This time, she could hear it. It wasn’t a moan of pleasure, but one of pain.
“Ellie… help” his voice said weakly. Panic coursed through her, and she ran to the door, shoving it open.